A missionary that I knew years ago named Granger used to tell of his first trip into the Congo to begin his work among the pygmies there. Granger was very short himself and a bit hyperactive, and he wasn’t patient with sitting still. He said that he was traveling with his supplies and a guide and two carriers who were helping with the supplies. All three of these men were nationals of the Congo. After a very active and fast-paced morning of covering many miles, the three sat down and would not budge. Granger was anxious to get to his destination, and did not want to wait, so he entreated the men to get up and get moving, but they wouldn’t budge. They didn’t appear to be out of breath, so he couldn’t understand why they wouldn’t start back up. When he asked them why, the guide replied to him, “We are waiting for our souls to catch up with our bodies”.

We enter now into the busiest month of the church year. It is the time when everything starts up once again. For those of you with children at home this is compounded by all the different activities associated with school. The relaxation and leisure which we associate with summertime is now at an end. We have our noses back to the proverbial grindstone, as the days grow shorter and colder. There are numerous worthwhile and good activities going on now. For many of us these include ministries that we participate in, and which make a difference in our lives and the lives of others as well. Nonetheless, it takes an expenditure of energy and of strength to get ourselves in the place where we are ready for all of this. Often we allow the busyness of these days to crowd out the time that we need to maintain relationship with the Lord. In a sense we are sometimes like Granger, wanting to hustle on and get it done, when in fact we need to “wait for our souls to catch up with our bodies”. Our fast paced busyness can have a deadening effect on our souls which is slow and insidious and which we don’t even realize is happening. We feel good, productive, efficient, and industrious, while our spiritual life and energy ebbs away. Suddenly God feels very far away but we don’t know why.

Fred Mitchell, a leader in world missions used to keep a motto on his desk that read, “Beware of the barrenness of the busy life.” Too often in times gone by I have lived in that place of barrenness. I am trying to intentionally reserve time in each day and in each week to cultivate quietness and a listening heart. You see, I have discovered that I can no more maintain proper relationship with my Lord on what little time is left over after my busy activities than I can maintain a marriage on that basis. If the writers of the Westminster Shorter Catechism were right (and I believe they were) then our chief end as human beings is to “glorify God and enjoy Him forever”. We cannot enjoy Him when we are too busy to spend time with Him. God does not want you so busy “doing” for Him that you have no time to spend with Him. William Longstaff put it this way over a century ago:

                     Take time to be holy, the world rushes on;

                    Spend much time in secret, with Jesus alone.

                    By looking to Jesus, like Him thou shalt be;

                    Thy friends in thy conduct, His likeness shall see.

Entusiasmo Divino

En el hogar de mi padre hay muchas viviendas………..voy a prepararles un lugar. John 14:2

Hace algunas semanas atrás cuando me disponía a orar por mis hijos antes de que se durmieran, uno de ellos me entrego un libro de devocionales. El devocional que correspondía a ese día nos animaba a considerar el reino de Dios, y cómo nosotros somos sus representantes aquí en este mundo. El desafío que el escritor nos hacía era vivir diariamente como dignos embajadores. Una vez explicado el concepto y aplicado a la vida diaria, comenzaron a surgir preguntas de parte de mis hijos relacionadas con nuestro hogar celestial.

El apóstol Pablo, hablando a la Iglesia en I de Corintios 2:9 dice “Ningún ojo ha visto, ningún oído ha escuchado, ninguna mente humana ha concebido lo que Dios ha preparado para quienes lo aman.”

El contexto de este pasaje nos enseña que el apóstol Pablo hace este comentario como respuesta a los Judíos y Griegos que esperaban de los cristianos demostraciones de poder y sabiduría. Para el creyente existe una sabiduría y un poder mas profundo a través de una relación con Jesucristo independientemente de la edad.

La lección que mis hijos me dieron esa noche estaba llena de sabiduría y de un poder profundo. El estusiamo y el gozo que les creaba el conocer la verdad de que Dios esta preparando un hogar celestial para ellos era propio de dignos embajadores.

La pregunta para nosotros es: ¿Qué es lo que trae gozo a nuestras vidas? Cuando Jesucristo responde a los setenta y dos enviados a predicar una vez que estos comenzaron a regocijarse por el éxito que experimentaron en su jornada de evangelización les dice: “No se alegren de que pueden someter a los espíritus, sino alégrense de que sus nombres están escritos en el cielo.” Lucas 10:20.

Oremos y pidámosle a nuestro Señor que podamos vivír diariamente esta verdad de una manera ferviente.